Rachel Meyer stages interdisciplinary new Many Worlds in Railtown, May 31 to June 3

Microcosmos Quartet intermingles with dancers in a total experience at Alexander Street warehouse

*Many Worlds* features dancers Eowynn Enquist, Oksana Maslechko, Justin Rapaport, and Calder White. Photo by Fahim Kassam

Rachel Meyer presents Many Worlds at 298 Alexander Street from May 31 to June 3

INDEPENDENT DANCE ARTIST RACHEL Meyer’s shows in warehouse spaces always have a cool, underground, immersive vibe—not to mention some spectacular theatrical choreography.

That’s because the former Ballet BC and Dominic Walsh Dance Theater dancer approaches performance as a complete experience, from the invitations and programs to the costumes, the lighting, and the musicians that often intermingle with the performers. In 2018, in an industrial Alexander Street warehouse, her Transverse Orientation featured violinist Janna Sailor intermingling with a trio of gauzy, winged “moths”, under James Proudfoot’s flickering sepia lighting. In 2021, Mama, do we die when we sleep? plunged audiences into a fever-dream world as soon as they arrived at Strathcona’s historic Russian Hall. (Both shows were part of Dancing on the Edge.)

Now Meyer is back at Railtown’s atmospheric 298 Alexander with one of her most ambitious interdisciplinary shows yet.

Four dancers and four musicians are on hand for Many Worlds, a show that explores the boundaries of the performance space and time. Events are performed repeatedly, with both subtle and drastic changes altering relationships, perceptions, and outcomes.

As usual, Meyer has assembled a crack team of young contemporary dancers: Eowynn Enquist, Oksana Maslechko, Justin Rapaport, and Calder White.

Dancers will perform to the Microcosmos Quartet, with Marc Destrubé, Tawnya Popoff, Francisco Barradas, and Jake Klinkenborg, playing work by composer James Maxwell. They’re surrounded by visual art by celebrated sculptor and installation artist Rochelle Goldberg, who has also contributed to costume design for the piece. Expect a total experience.

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Janet Smith

Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.

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